In conjunction with the recent ownership
realignment, the CFII effort will soon be proceeding under a new name,
presumably "The Me 262 Project." Also, a final timeline
for flight tests, etc. will be released to the public in late January
2001 via this site. Until then, there will likely be very little
news to report.

18 NOV 00

It has come to our attention that some confusion exists
with respect to the present status of the Me 262 Project now underway
at Paine Field, Washington.

To begin with, we acknowledge that our web site is
somewhat behind in terms of providing the latest information.
There are a number of reasons for this; however, the most compelling
is simply that our progress has been stalled somewhat during the past
90 days. The main reason for the delay was that a number of deficiencies
were discovered in the control surfaces and aircraft systems which required
immediate correction. (These faults were the result of earlier
work done while the project was subcontracted to the Texas Airplane
Factory.) Hence, we have had little in the way of new progress
to report, as we have been preoccupied with inspecting and rebuilding
selected components.

As of this writing, Classic Fighter Industries, Inc.
(CFII) is also undergoing a corporate reorganization, coupled with a
transfer of ownership. As many of our web site visitors are already
aware, CFII's founder and CEO, Stephen L. Snyder, was killed in an F-86
crash in June of 2000. While the project continued undaunted,
Snyder's passing did require us to realign and restructure the program
to some degree. The aforementioned reorganization is the final
step in this process, and we will be reflagging the effort very shortly
as the "Me 262 Project." Concurrent with this action,
a new timeline is being developed for public release in January 2001.
Put simply, the flight test timeline delineated on our web site is no
longer realistic, given the unforeseen events of this past quarter.

So ... the question remains: are Me 262s still
being built? Yes, absolutely!! We have two in active production
as of November 2000, and three more in storage in a semi-completed state,
awaiting contracts. Is the first flight expected soon? Not
exactly, at least in the light of our initial goal of Autumn 2000.
We are, however, making steady progress toward this objective, and will
publish the corrected data in the revised timeline, to be released in
01/01.

This project has had a long and -- at times -- difficult
history, but we are excited about where we are today, and where we are
headed. The legend will fly again ... even if it may take us a
few additional months to make it happen.

30 OCT 00

REORGANIZATION UPDATE As announced
during one of our August updates, Classic Fighter Industries has been
formally reorganized. This realignment has no bearing upon the
status of the project, nor our progression timetable. The work
continues.

18 SEP 00

WHY NO UPDATES? We apologize for the
conspicuous lack of recent information. The webmaster has been
on temporary assignment for the past two months, and will return in
late October. We will reconstruct a chronological record of
our progress at that time and update this page. Thank you for
your patience!

14 AUG 00

BLUE ANGELS MECHS
VISIT PROJECT Several F-18 Hornet mechanics assigned to
the Navy's elite Blue Angels demonstration team recently paid a visit
to the project as the guests of B.J. Johnson, a crew chief on the project.
The local newspaper covered this event in a brief feature which may
be viewed online. For more information, point your browsers to
http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/00/8/3/12837383.cfm.

DISTRIBUTION OF
LABOR We have received several inquiries regarding the manner
in which we divide our attentions between the various aircraft.
At this time, roughly 3/4 of our total effort is being put into the
completion of blue nose, as it will be the first to fly. The balance
of our energies are going into red nose. The uncommitted jets
(3) remain in a partially complete -- but inactive -- status pending
the assignment of contracts against them. The final loadout of
White 35 is also expected to occupy several days toward the end of August.

CANOPY MODIFICATIONS UNDERWAY Material
deviations from the original Me 262 design made while the project
was in Texas were determined to have resulted in a potential bird
strike vulnerability in the forward windscreen and supporting structure.
(This was in part due to the elimination of the 3" bulletproof
glass used during the war.) We have taken steps to correct this
condition for greater authenticity and -- most importantly -- to guarantee
pilot safety.

08
AUG 00

REORGANIZATION
PENDING As the work continues, an ownership realignment has been
tentatively accepted which would carry the project through to completion.
The change will essentially be transparent, as CFII will continue to
operate in much the same fashion as we have since the move to Seattle.

TIMELINE UPDATE Despite some recent
engine testing and component design delays, we remain largely on-schedule,
with power-on tests coming in the fall. The test flight program
may be slipped somewhat, depending upon the results of these preliminary
checks.

05 AUG 00

TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS SET
After seven long years away from home, White 35 will be prepared for
overland shipment by truck back to Willow Grove Naval Air Station
in Pennsylvania. Airlift support from the USAF was not forthcoming,
and we expect to begin this operation within the next 30 days.

26 JUL 00

ENGINE TEST UPDATE Engine testing
was suspended earlier in the week, pending some unforeseen inspections
which must be completed off-site. When testing is resumed in
a week or so, particular attention will be paid to the impact of the
Jumo 004 housing upon the induced airflow to the engine.

11
JUL 00

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Work continue on blue nose structures and the red nose wing at this
time. We have also met with the U.S. Navy representatives charged
with inspection and acceptance of White 35. The aircraft must
be approved in accordance with the terms of our agreement with the Navy
before final transportation plans can be made.

OSHKOSH REPRESENTATION The events
of the past 12 months have precluded our making an appearance at Oshkosh
2000, as planned earlier. The work will continue unabated; however
two of our staff will attend the event as private citizens.
If you do happen to spot them in their "Classic Fighter Industries"
hats and shirts, feel free to stop them and ask for an "on the
spot update."

06 JUL 00

DESTINATION CONFIRMED After months
of conjecture and high-level negotiation, the Navy has decided that
White 35 WILL be returned to Willow Grove, despite earlier indications
that the jet was actually Pensacola-bound. No word on transportation
plans is available at this time, pending further contact with the
USAF.

29 JUN 00

ENGINE TESTS TO
COMMENCE Tomorrow is expected to mark the formal commencement
of the engine test program, as one of the CJ-610s is currently scheduled
for test stand operations out on the ramp. Earlier tests were
postponed to allow sufficient time to diagnose and correct a few last-minute
discrepancies.

TEST PILOT SELECTED The owner of
aircraft 501241 (blue nose) has approved a test pilot for the aircraft's
first flight. We are safeguarding the specifics of this arrangement
at the moment, but can disclose that the selectee is a German national
with considerable career experience in both military and commercial
jet aircraft, to include the F-104 Starfighter.

10 JUN 00

BUSINESS AS USUAL As the pace of
our updates has slowed a bit in recent weeks, we've begun to receive
many inquiries regarding the status of active production. In
effect, there is little new to report, though we promise to promptly
report any changes.

28 APR 00

STILL MORE PHOTOS POSTED Our series
of post-restoration images of White 35 have been continued
with a new three page spread,
courtesy of Mr. Gary Webster of Travis Industries in Kirkland, Washington.
Watch for Mr. Webster's companion trip notes in a future update.

09 APR 00

NEW PHOTOS
POSTED We have just posted several new pages of images, including
the first rollout shots of
White 35, the original Me 262B-1a used as our template aircraft.

PAINTING COMPLETED The former "Navy
jet" emerged from the paint hangar at Paine Field today, and
was repositioned for a formal photo shoot. Project photographer
Nick Cirelli captured a series of images for the DuPont company's
popular "Top Gun" calendar and for use in the company's
newsletter in an upcoming feature.

03 APR 00

PAINTING UPDATE Stencils, decals
and Luftwaffe markings were applied to the Navy jet today.
The scheme used (White 35) is a replication of the markings
the plane wore when originally captured by U.S. forces in May of 1945.
After nearly six decades, the wartime identity of this Me 262B-1a
has finally been restored. The term "Navy jet" will
henceforth give way to the more correct White 35.

25 MAR 00

NAVY JET TO PAINT SHOP The Navy
jet has been prepared for the final step in the restoration process:
reapplication of its original wartime paint scheme. Known in
Luftwaffe service as White 35, these markings will now
be reapplied with automotive-grade paints graciously donated by the
DuPont Company.

13 MAR 00

NAVY RESTORATION
COMPLETE With the completion of the Navy jet's restoration, all
work from this point on will go into the completion of the new production
jets. The "blue nose" airplane (werknummer 501241)
will receive the lion's share of initial effort, as it is currently
scheduled for engine tests -- and a first flight -- later in the year.

Engineering work continues on fuel and
hydraulic systems designs.

12 MAR 00

TRAVEL JOURNAL POSTED Richard
Eger's trip diary from his recent visit to the production facility
has been converted to a compatible format and added to the site.

10 MAR 00

MOVING DAY The Navy jet has left
building 221, hangar bay 4, on it's way to the paint shop on Paine
Field. Appropriately, the tow vehicle was a 1942 Willy's Army
Jeep, owned by one of our volunteers (see photo, below).

07 MAR 00

TRANSPORT PLANS
Negotiations are now underway with United States Air Force representatives
to have the Navy jet airlifted to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola,
Florida. The proposed plan calls for transport via C-17.

In consideration for their support, the
Air Force will tentatively be given permission to place the jet on
short term display at McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington ... nose to
nose with the F-22 Raptor. Afterward, the Me 262 will be loaded aboard
the Globemaster III and flown to its new permanent home in Pensacola.

28 FEB 00

ASSISTANCE VISIT Project consultant
Richard T. Eger is presently on a five-day technical assistance visit
to document the internal structure of the Navy jet, determine the
original fuel system configuration, and provide general technical
consultation. He will also return with an updated series of
photographs for use in the project's web site and related marketing
efforts.

15 FEB 00

NAVY JET NEAR COMPLETION The Navy
jet (alternatively known as White 35, Vera, 555 and BuAer 121448)
is nearing the end of it seven year restoration cycle, and will be
prepared for painting in a few weeks.

18 JAN 00

CFII SITE FEATURED We are pleased
to note that COMBATSIM,
the ultimate resource for combat simulation and strategy gamer's,
has selected the CFII web site as their latest special feature link.
A special welcome to all of our friends in the sims community!